Kaczynski to Speak
On Brother’s Conviction

Kaczynski

David Kaczynski harbored suspicions that his brother, Ted, might have been the Unabomber. His decision to act on his instincts and inform the FBI eventually led to his brother’s conviction for killing 3 people and injuring 23 through 17 bombings. On Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Building 50 Auditorium, David Kaczynski will speak on “Doing the Right Thing – When It’s the Hardest Thing to Do,” about his experiences before, during, and in the years following his decision. All employees are invited, though attendance will be limited to available seating.

Throughout the day, a water line installation for UC Botanical Garden will require one-lane flagged traffic at the S-curve on Centennial Drive adjacent to the Garden entrance. The work will be thoroughly flagged below and above the curves, but is likely to cause some traffic delays. For further information, please contact Project Manager Stephen Daniels at 642-9446.

Nanotech Health Probe
Gets Funding Boost
By Michael Kanellos

The Department of Defense has provided a grant to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center to further probe the health risks of nanotechnology, a growing concern in the industry. The $5.5 million grant will be used to develop models to predict the toxicity of certain nanoparticles over a five-year period. Two other universities will also be involved in the project. Full story (registration required).

Refining Semiconductors
One Atom at a Time
By Anne Eisenberg

Crommie

At the heart of semiconductor fabrication are crucial additives called dopants, impurities that change the electronic properties of silicon or other material to make the transistors and other components of a chip. Currently these dopants are added in bulk, but as electronic devices shrink - and the hope is to get them down to the size of a molecule - serious problems with doping are expected. At that small a scale, the location of a needed doping atom must be known exactly. Now a physicist has succeeded in controlling doping precisely at the atomic level. Michael F. Crommie, with Berkeley Lab’s Materials Sciences Division, has attached single dopant atoms, one by one, to single molecules, thereby custom-tailoring their electronic properties. Full story (registration required).

Lab Energy Site Named
In Useful 'Top 100'

PC Magazine has named the Home Energy Saver web site, created by the Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, as one of its "top 100 sites you didn't know you couldn't live without." About the Energy site, it writes, "With natural energy resources being depleted at an alarming rate, saving energy is a priority for many. Give Home Energy Saver your ZIP code and answer a short questionnaire and the site shows you how much you can save by making your home energy- efficient—and gives you tips to accomplish your goal." The Home Energy Saver site can be accessed here.